Coming Full Circle: How Mike Brundage Built a Thriving Pharmacy in Rural Pennsylvania

While studying as part of the first PharmD class at the Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy, Mike Brundage worked at a local independent pharmacy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. At the time, he told the owner, “I don’t know how you do this every day, but this is not what I want to do.”

Now, Brundage, PharmD, is the president and owner of Brundage’s Waymart Pharmacy in Waymart, Pennsylvania.

“I never wanted to be a business owner after seeing how hard my parents worked as business owners,” he said. “This is the last thing I thought I’d ever be doing, and now I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. I get to utilize everything I learned and do things the way I want to.”

Brundage’s goal was to be a clinical pharmacist. After pharmacy school, he took a clinical job in a Vermont hospital—no residence necessary. He then returned to northeast Pennsylvania and went back to hospital pharmacy. Restless and bored, he tried working for a large retail chain pharmacy for a short time. Unhappy there, he moved back to a hospital setting, working as a nursing home consultant. As PharmD degrees were new at the time, he experienced a lot of pushback from physicians.

Soon, a health system opened a retail pharmacy in his small, rural hometown of Waymart. Brundage and another pharmacist alternated 1 week on and 1 week off.

“I loved it. I was on vacation every other week,” he said.

Eventually, the other pharmacist left. The health system decided to get out of the business, finding the pharmacy was not profitable enough. In 2006, Brundage and his wife, Chris Brundage, RN, purchased the pharmacy and have owned it since then. In 2008, they opened a new building, which remains the pharmacy’s home.

Brundage’s Waymart Pharmacy is 1 of only 2 independent pharmacies in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. As other independent pharmacies closed, Brundage’s absorbed their patients and now serves patients from 3 counties: Wayne, Lackawanna, and Susquehanna.

It’s all the little things we do to keep the store alive.

Brundage says the success of his pharmacy lies in adapting to the changing market and conditions.

“It’s all the little things we do to keep the store alive,” he said. “My customers know I’m there for them and have their best interests in mind.”

Brundage noted that when he started out, the standard uniform for a pharmacist was a shirt and tie, but he noticed that people did not want to approach him. Now he adopts a more casual dress code.

“This makes me more relatable, and people are more comfortable coming to talk to me about things they wouldn’t otherwise talk to someone about,” he said. He made a point to offer a conversational and honest relationship and environment with the Waymart community, knowing this helps establish trust and confidence from his patients in a judgment-free setting.

Brundage found several niche areas that help the pharmacy stay afloat, such as setting up durable medical equipment billing and offering baby formulas. “We are one of few pharmacies that will go through the process of submitting the paperwork to bill insurance,” he said. “It has been a good source of income for us.”

Finding other revenue streams to help bolster the pharmacy business was key, he said. Another area where Brundage has established his practice was in a direct contract with 2 local hospices, taking care of patients up to 80 miles away. They have a close working relationship, and he gives the hospice staff advice on medications and helping the hospice patients both medically and financially.

“It’s another little niche,” he said. “We do a lot of little things well. It’s a way to survive in today’s environment by doing a lot of the little things.”

Like many pharmacies, Brundage’s Waymart Pharmacy focuses heavily on prescriptions, immunizations, medication synchronization, and compliance packaging. However, Brundage noted that to survive, pharmacies may need to charge a small amount for their services, such as delivery and compliance packaging.

In 2022, Brundage noticed the significant impact of brand-name medicines on the business due to declining reimbursements. He phased out many brand-name drugs except those through a 340B program and established a loyalty pricing program for generics through software vendor PioneerRx.

“Letting customers know I’m always going to be there to support them and do the best I can do—while trying to save them money—has garnered a lot of loyalty,” he said.

Not only are the patients loyal, but his staff is, too. He notes that he has had technicians working with him who have celebrated 5 years, 8 years, and 13 years with the pharmacy. These pharmacy technicians are critical to taking care of the patients.

“Every patient is taken care of. Everyone is acknowledged as soon as the door opens,” Brundage says, adding that he refuses to have an interactive voice response system or drive-through. Patients also love receiving birthday greetings, which PioneerRx sets up. Brundage said the work environment is fun and lighthearted for staff and customers.

Brundage also enjoys giving back to the community, including the surrounding counties. Every year, the pharmacy hosts a toy collection for the holidays. They also sponsor Little League teams, Parties in the Park summer concerts, and other events.

Brundage enjoys spending time with his wife and 2 daughters. He has recently taken an interest in flying paramotors (you can find him on YouTube at PharmPhlyer).

“It’s a midlife crisis,” he joked, telling the story of how he always wanted to fly. His supportive wife always encouraged him. One day, he saw a neighbor flying over his house, and she said, “You should do that!” Within a few months, Brundage was getting trained and starting to fly paramotors.

“It’s a great stress relief, lots of fun, and a great community of people. The customers love seeing me fly around town and watching my videos, too,” he said.

To read these stories and more, download the PDF of the Drug Topics September/October issue here.

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